Design of Clutch Mechanism Using Mixture of Shear Thinning Fluid with Rheological Fluid

Abstract

An alternative design for clutch mechanism has been introduced in this paper. Current clutch designs are complex, bulky and suffer from significant power losses during their operation. The property of decreasing viscosity under a shear rate of shear thinning fluids is used to decrease the viscous forces on the spinning shaft. The proposed design also constitutes of electrorheological (ER) or magnetorheological (MR) fluids. This embodiment consists of a wedge-shaped container that accommodates a mixture of shear thinning fluid and ER or MR fluids which varying the viscosity for clutch operation when magnetic or electric field is applied. This method gives a universal clutch design which can be used with any type of gearbox and is also self-lubricating and with real-time adjustable properties. It will also result in a much more simplified and streamlined manufacturing.